Member Profile

Kate Finlayson

Group Chief Commercial Officer | Oak Group

Office Location: Guernsey

Jurisdiction

Guernsey

Top Specialisms

Family Governance and Business

Family Office

Trusts & Trusteeship

Connect

Professional Biography

Kate Finlayson joined Oak in December 2023 as Group Chief Commercial Officer, working closely with the Executive Committee, MDs and teams across all jurisdictions. Kate joined following roles at Collas Crill, Intertrust and Guernsey Finance, where as Deputy CEO she was responsible for spearheading international business efforts and has been credited for making significant progress in the Asian and US markets. During this time, she helped identify new opportunities for the industry and assisted in bringing new clients to Guernsey from around the world. In this role, Kate was privileged to work with firms across all sectors of industry including funds, private client, insurance, banking and professional services. ​Before moving to the island, Kate lived in Hong Kong for several years, where she completed her MBA at Ivey along with Mandarin studies at the University of Hong Kong. Previous to this, Kate was a political analyst with the world's oldest think tank in London, the Royal United Services Institute, where she contributed to research projects on UK/NATO defence policy and coordinating humanitarian operations in Afghanistan.​Kate graduated from Georgetown University, after which time she worked as a researcher for Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP, and subsequently completed an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Kate speaks Mandarin, French, Italian and Spanish.

Question : What drew you to specialise in private client law/ wealth advisory?

Answer: Working with lovely people with interesting stories! And the network of advisors in this space is filled with absolutely incredible subject matter experts.

Question : With the evolving landscape of the private client world, what are recent trends or shifts you are excited to explore?

Answer: Very excited to explore the nexus of private client and institutional capital management. There used to be a clear delineation between private client vs corporate vs funds--more and more now they are blended or overlapping and not only does that lead to i

Question : Where is your favourite place to take a peer for a cocktail or coffee?

Answer: London: Ham Yard Hong Kong: Upper House New York: Monkey Bar...or skip the drinks and go straight to Shake Shack for a cheeseburger! :)